Burnt Out Ends
by Dark-Mistress179
Summary: [Cats] Exotica leaves the Junkyard only to have, and subsequently abandon, kittens. When her kittens unwittingly come back to their mother's old home, what will they find? Go on! Give it a read. You know you want to...
1. Default Chapter

Burnt Out Ends

(A/N: While some of the backstory occurs before the Jellicle Ball, most of this fic is based after it. It's mainly a Munku/OC fic, so you Munku/Demi fans will be a bit dissapointed. This is my first attempt at fanfiction for these particular characters, so feedback will be greatly appreciated.)

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Cats. I do, however, own all the original characters that appear in this fic. All 7 of them. Steal them and angry, rabid, purple space weasels will eat your brain.

**Prologue:**

Exotica slowly crawled out of the soggy cardboard box she'd been using as shelter for the last few weeks. Her once-glossy chocolate brown coat was dull and matted in the cold mist of morning.

_"Why did I ever leave the Junkyard? I could have had the kittens there and left them in safe hands. I want to see the world! I want to go and see and do! How can I ever be free with that brood clinging to me?"_ she thought miserably, twitching her ears at the faint sounds of mewling coming from the box. The faint touch of a paw on her face startled her out of her reverie.

Exotica's oldest kitten, Aurora, sat silently before her. At eleven weeks old, she was fast becoming a beautiful queen. Her coat was an odd mix of siamese and tabby, with deep brown points on her paws, ears and tail, and striking stripes of silver and black crisscrossing her creamy body. Her eyes had long since changed from the sparkling blue she had been born with to a deep, endless green. As the oldest, Aurora was far more serious, preferring quiet contemplation to rough housing with her 5 brothers and sisters. Although she had a will of iron that often tried Exotica's patience, she also had a gentle, compassionate heart and a fierce sense of loyalty...all of which eased Exotica's mind a bit when she thought about abandoning her kittens.

"Mother?" Aurora's delicate, velvety voice queeried.

"Yes, dear?" Exotica replied, avoiding the keen eyes of her daughter.

"Can you tell me about Father?" Exotica's swift intake of breath immediately cut off Aurora's question.

"...He was a very, very bad cat. He did many awful things in his life...to many different unfortunate cats. Little Adrianus looks just like him, although he thankfully didn't inherit his father's bad temperment. None of you kits have, and I thank the Everlasting Cat for that!" Exotica explained slowly, trying to get the image of the father of her kits out of her mind. Aurora nodded slowly, absorbing this new information.

"Do you love us, Mother?" she asked, her brow creasing with thought. Exotica hesitated for only a moment, but it was enough.

"Of course I do!" she said, even as her daughter veiled her eyes and turned away from her.

"AURORA! Roque is picking on me again! Make him stop!" came an angry shriek from the box. Aurora's mouth quirked in a tiny smile as she swiftly returned to her siblings to resolve the issue. It was at that very moment, with the shrieking of her kittens ringing in her ears, that Exotica's will shattered. The sound of her paws running off into the distance was quickly absorbed by the morning fog, and she never saw the angry green eyes blazing at her retreating form.


	2. Chapter One

**One Year Later:**

"Well, what 'ave we 'ere?" the large man said, plucking the tiny ginger tabby tom from the can he'd been hiding in. Adrianus squirmed and spit and hissed, but it only served to amuse his captor.

" 'Ey now! Easy there, lil' gov!" he said, still clutching the kitten by his scruff. Adrianus finally opened his mouth and let out a heartfelt wail just as a blur of fur, fangs and claws (namely, me) came whizzing past the man's face. Startled, he dropped the kitten, who was quickly retrived by a brown tom with ginger stripes. Within a matter of moments, the whole lot of us had disappeared, along with the majority of his ham sandwich. The poor man merely scratched his head and stared at his empty plate with bewilderment.

"Kaden! Valeda! Fanchet! We're back!" I cried cheerfully as I stalked into the drainpipe I had moved them to a few days prior. Adrianus, still looking rather terrified, followed right on my heels with Roque following shortly after carrying the prized ham in his mouth.

"It's about time! We were starting to worry. " Kaden said softly. I smiled at my younger brother, the second oldest of our litter. Although his coat was the plainest, merely a deep brown devoid of markings, he was the sweetest.

"Speak for yourself!" Fanchet snorted, stretching her legs before deigning to join us. Fanchet had siamese markings, but with a dull red instead of the usual brown to mark her legs, ears, and tail. She was the third born and easily the most solitary of us all, although she loved our family dearly.

"Oh, like you weren't pacing like the rest of us!" Valeda laughed, rubbing her black and white striped face against her sister's. Valeda was the 5th born, almost the baby. She was painfully curious about everything, and braver than even I would care to admit.

"Mmmm...ham! You did great, Adri!" Roque mumbled, his mouth full of the spoils of the day. Roque was all brown with ginger stripes and a temper that often put the two of us at odds. He just couldn't stand that I was the oldest, and thus in charge.

"Thanks...although I've never been so scared in my life! Good thing you caught me or I'd be limping right now." Adrianus said quietly. Now this was the baby of my not-so-little family. Our mother had always been more distant towards him than the rest of us...not that she was particularly loving to any of her kits. I always thought she had been cruel when she named him, for although he was a bright ginger tabby...his name meant "dark." My mother always said he looked like our father, whom she claimed was an evil creature.

Personally, I felt both our parents were cruel and evil. Him for doing whatever he did to make mother hate us all, and her for abandoning us when we were hardly old enough to fend for ourselves. I had taken over as the Protecter and Guardian of the family, and thanks to my excellent mousing skills, I was usually the only one to ever go hungry. It didn't matter if I was thinner than most, so long as my family remained healthy and happy.

"Hey, Aurora...aren't you eating?" Kaden asked, offering me a bit of ham.

"Maybe a bit later. Right now there's something we really need to discuss." The serious tone of my voice commanded everyone's attention...even Roque's.

"I've been seeing pollicles in the area. Just yesterday I smelled one right outside our alley. It's not safe here anymore, and as easy as it's been for us to snatch food...I think we should move." A heavy silence greeted my statement.

"Where could we move to? Do you have any places in mind?" Fanchet asked.

"There's a junkyard a little over a mile away from here. I know that's a long way, but it's secluded and I haven't seen anything other than the occasional rat there. From what I've seen, there appears to be plenty of good places for shelter, and as I said, lots of rats so we won't go hungry. I'd like to try it, but if you kits would preferr to look elsewhere, I won't force it." I replied.

"I'd like to go. It'll be an adventure!" Valeda squealed happily.

"You've led us right every time, so far, Aurora. I'll trust your judgement." Kaden said thoughtfully.

"Why not? Not like there's anything exciting to do around this dump anyway!" Roque supplied.

"I don't know if Adrianus could make it all that way. He's only a little kitten." Fanchet said, shooting her baby brother a concerned look.

"I'm not sure myself if I'm strong enough, but I'll try if Aurora really thinks it's not safe." Adrianus admitted. I smiled as I surveyed my siblings, loving them all the more for putting so much faith in me.

"Alright then. Tomorrow, we move to the junkyard!"


	3. Chapter Two

It had been a few days since we'd left our old home to venture to the unkown Junkyard. Although my keen eyes could see quite well in the dark, the moon was so bright that I almost forgot it was close to midnight. I cast a worried glance over my shoulder at my numerous siblings.

"Adrianus? You alright back there?" I asked softly, noting the drooping eyelides of my youngest brother.

"I'll be alright..." he mumbled, stumbling a bit as he yawned. I supressed a chuccle as I quickly scooped him up in my arms and continued walking, letting my instincts pull me closer to our destination.

"Aurora? Don't you think it's time for us to stop for a bit?" Fanchet asked, her red tail twitching.

"We're nearly there. I'm thinking probably within the hour. If we stop to rest, we probably won't get there until dawn. Wouldn't you rather get there, get settled, and have a good sleep in our new home?" I asked, giving her a sidelong look. She heaved a big sigh and rolled her amber eyes at me.

"Always planning ahead, aren't you, Miss Killjoy?" she asked sarcastically.

"Two mice says you'll thank me later." I replied, trying and failing to hide the smirk creeping across my face. Fanchet was truly a gambler at heart, so she immediately perked up at the thought of winning a bet.

"Pfft! You're on!" she said, offering the first real smile I'd seen from her in weeks.

The minutes rolled by as we trudged on, closer and closer to our aim. I could smell the garbage before I saw the towering pile of junk. Gently waking my baby brother, I let him walk on his own and immediately went on the defensive.

"What is it?" Kaden asked, stepping up next to me while his flashing blue eyes swept the area.

"Something doesn't smell right. This place was empty before but now...I don't know. Something's just not right. Go to the rear and keep the kits close. It's easy to get lost in this place." I replied tersely, my senses kicking into overdrive at even the notion of a threat to my family. We advanced slowly deeper into the piles of rubble and my nose twitched with the many smells assaulting my nose. Something was definitely different here.

We had just reached the center of a vast, empty space, surrounded by piles of junk on all sides, when I was hit with the sharp, distinctive scent of another cat.

"Something's out there, kits. Stay behind me." I whispered, watching five heads nod as one. Suddenly, as if by magic, the place was alive with lights and cats popping out of every nook and cranny.

_"Shit shit shit shit! Was this a trap? Who are they?"_ I thought wildly as I gathered my siblings in a group and slowly circled them, baring my claws and fangs to these strange cats.

_"No way in hell are they touching my brothers and sisters! I'll die first!"_ I thought, locking my jaw with steely determination. A silver tabby broke away from the junk, moving closer to Valeda and Adrianus. Almost instantly, I was between my siblings and the tabby, hissing like a demon and baring my evil looking fangs.

"Back off, Stripes!" I snarled. The tabby stopped advancing, but didn't retreat. Instead, he pulled himself up straighter to look down at me.

"You're on Jellicle territory. This is hardly the way a civilized guest would behave. We won't hurt you, I promise...provided you give us the same curtosy." he stated softly in a deep, velvety voice.

My head cocked to the side as I curiously took in this strange tabby. He offered a gentle smile and extended a paw, keeping his claws carefully retracted. I catiously sniffed the air, and sensing no real threat, began to relax.

"Sorry about that. I thought the place was deserted. When the lights came on and all of you popped out, I couldn't help being a bit...defensive." I replied, offering him a small smile and reaching to touch my paw to his. As soon as our paws connected, an electric sizzle passed between us, causing us both to jump back as if we'd been scorched.

"Who are you?" I asked, giving him a shocked look. His steel grey eyes were easily the size of dinner plates as he returned my stunned gaze before visibly shaking himself and regaining his regal composure.

"...Munkustrap. I'm the Protector of the Jellicles. Since we're getting acquainted, perhaps you could give me your name...and the names of your children?" he asked, that same gentle politeness in his voice, as though the strange jolt had never happened. We all stared at him for a moment, then dissolved into helpless laughter (or giggles, in Valeda's case).

"Oh! Oh Everlasting Cat, that was a good one! Hee hee hee...they're not my children! They're my brothers and sisters. But since there's so many of us, I'll introduce us in order. I'm Aurora, the oldest. That's Kaden, Fanchet, and the one giving us both the evil eye would be Roque. These two are Valeda and Adrianus." I listed the names, pointing to each one in turn. Adrianus peeked shyly around me and stared up at Munkustrap.

"What's a Jellicle?" he asked softly. A ripple of amusement swept through the crowd of felines watching us, and even Munkustrap chuccled a bit as he crouched down to get on my youngest brother's level.

"Tell you what. How about I take you all to see Old Deutoronomy, the Jellicle leader, and he'll explain everything to you, okay?" Munkustrap asked, offering a paw to my brother. Adrianus beamed and looked hopefully up at me.

"Oh can we Aurora? I like this place! Can we stay, please!" he asked, nearly bouncing with excitement. Seeing him so happy made my heart melt, and I found I couldn't refuse him...not that Munkustrap was really going to let us just walk away.

"Let's go talk to their leader, and then we'll see." I said, bending down to give his face an affectionate lick. My eyes locked with Munkustrap's, and for a moment the air between us was filled with that same electric energy, sending a shiver down my spine. With great effort, I tore my gaze from his and looked at my siblings without really seeing them.

_"What in the name of Bast is going on here?"_ I thought we began to follow Munkustrap further into the unknown.


End file.
